Summary: Mr X complained the Council accepted his daughter, Y, for school transport, but made him arrange it and escort her. He said he did not agree to this. Mr X said this impacted him financially and affected his mental health. There was fault in the way the Council required Mr X to have a personal travel budget and required him to escort Y. This frustrated and distressed Mr X. The Council should apologise, make a financial payment and provide transport and an escort for Y.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council accepted his daughter, Y, for school transport, but made him arrange it and escort her. He said he did not agree to this. Mr X said this impacted him financially and affected his mental health.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
3. If we are satisfied with a Council’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)
4. Under the information sharing agreement between the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman and the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted), we will share this decision with Ofsted.

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How I considered this complaint

5. I read Mr X’s complaint and spoke to him about it on the phone.
6. I considered evidence provided by Mr X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
7. Mr X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

Background information

8. Local authorities must make suitable home to school travel arrangements as they consider necessary for ‘eligible children’ of compulsory school age to attend their ‘qualifying school’. The travel arrangements must be made and provided free of charge. The relevant qualifying school is the nearest school with places available that provides education appropriate to the age, ability and aptitude of the child, and any special educational needs the child may have. ‘Eligible children’ include:

• children living outside ‘statutory walking distance’ from the school (two miles for children under eight, three miles for children aged eight and above);
• children living within walking distance of the school but who cannot reasonably be expected to walk to school because of their special educational needs, disability or mobility problem;
• children living within walking distance of the school but who cannot walk to school because the route is unsafe; and
• children entitled on low-income grounds. (Education Act 1996, 508B(1) and Schedule 35B)

9. A child will not normally be eligible for free travel to school on the grounds of their special educational needs, disability, or mobility problem, or on the grounds that the route is unsafe, if they would be able to walk to school if they were accompanied.
10. A child will not normally be eligible solely because their parent’s work commitments or caring responsibilities mean they are unable to accompany their child themselves. Councils must consider cases where the parent says there are good reasons why they are unable to accompany their child, or make other suitable arrangements for their journey, and make a decision on the basis of the circumstances of each case.
11. Where the local authority determines that a child would be able to walk if they were accompanied, the general expectation is that the parent will accompany them or make other suitable arrangements for their journey to and from school. (Department of Education, Travel to school for children of compulsory school age statutory guidance 2023, paragraphs 47 to 52)
12. If only one school is named in a young person’s EHC plan, then that is the school the council has determined is the nearest suitable school for the child. It is therefore the nearest ‘qualifying school’ for the child to attend for school transport consideration. This is because the council has not made arrangements for the child to attend a closer school. (S and another v Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council [2012] EWCA Civ 346.) Where the child is attending the ‘nearest suitable school’, they will qualify for free transport, provided any other relevant conditions are met.
13. The statutory guidance, “Travel to and from school for children of compulsory school age”, says council’s can meet their duty in a range of alternative ways, provided they have the consent of the parent. (Department of Education, Travel to school for children of compulsory school age statutory guidance 2023, paragraph 68 and 69)
14. The Council school transport policy gives four options for providing transport. They are:
• Travel training;
• Public transport travel pass;
• Personal travel budget; and
• Once all the above options have been ruled out, it may provide directly provided transport.

What happened

15. This is a summary of events, outlining key facts and does not cover everything that has occurred in this case.
16. Y has special educational needs, has an EHC Plan. Y attends the specialist school named in the EHC Plan, over the three miles set out in law from her home. Mr X applied for education transport in July 2024.
17. The Council visited Mr X and Y in August 2024. It completed an assessment and confirmed Y was eligible for transport and could not travel alone. The Council offered a personal travel budget for a taxi with a parent escorting Y.
18. Mr X appealed the Council’s decision a week later. He asked the Council to provide transport and an escort for Y.
19. The Council upheld its decision at the appeal meeting a week later. The Council confirmed the personal travel budget was available to Mr X and it was not unreasonable for a parent to escort Y.
20. Mr X appealed the Council decision. The Council confirmed it needed more information from Y’s school and deferred the decision.
21. The Council discussed Y with the school in September 2024.
22. The Council held the stage two review meeting in October 2024. The Council upheld its decision, saying it was not unreasonable for a parent to escort their child.
23. Mr X was not satisfied with the Council’s response and has asked the Ombudsman to investigate. Mr X would like the Council to arrange transport.
24. In response to my enquiries the Council stated as Y’s mother, Mrs X, was available to escort her to school, it was reasonable for her to.

My findings

25. The Ombudsman is not an appeal body. This means we do not take a second look at a decision to decide if it was wrong. Instead, we look at the processes the Council followed to make its decision. If we consider it followed those processes correctly, we cannot question whether the decision was right or wrong.
26. The Council’s decision at appeal was that it was reasonable for a parent to escort Y to and from school. However, accompaniment is only a relevant consideration when a child is attending their nearest suitable school which is within the statutory walking distance of their home, and they could not reasonably be expected to walk there because of their special educational needs, disability or mobility problem (even if accompanied by their parent).
27. In this case, Y attends their nearest suitable school which is located more than 3 miles from their home. This is above the statutory walking distance as set out in law. This means Y is eligible for free travel and the issue of accompaniment is not relevant to the decision.
28. The evidence shows the Council agreed Y was eligible for transport assistance to and from school and awarded a personal travel budget. In deciding what travel arrangements to make, the Council relied on its policy, which gives four options for meeting its duty to provide suitable home-to-school travel arrangements. The policy says it will only provide direct transport if it ruled out all other options. However, the policy makes no mention of a parent needing to consent to arrangements.
29. The statutory guidance, referenced in paragraph 13 says the legislation permits local authorities to meet their duty in respect of an eligible child in a range of alternative ways, “provided they have the consent of the parent”. Mr X has told the Council and the Ombudsman he did not agree to the personal travel budget. I note the Council has only offered the personal travel budget and required Mr X to escort Y.
30. There is no evidence the Council had Mr X’s agreement before deciding he should have a personal travel budget. This is not in line with statutory guidance. This is fault. A personal travel budget is voluntary. Y is travelling to school in a taxi. Mr X had to arrange this against his wishes and Mr and Mrs X had to accompany Y. This is fault, causing Mr X frustration and distress.

Wider impact

31. The details of this case raised concerns about the Council’s school transport policy and its transport provision. Given these concerns, under Section 26D of the Local Government Act 1974, we have started a new investigation to consider the wider impact on others in the Council area. This investigation will consider concerns with the Council’s policy and if there is any indication of a potential widespread injustice to members of the public served by this Council.

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Agreed action

32. To remedy the outstanding injustice caused to Mr X by the fault I have identified, the Council agreed to take the following action within 2 weeks of my final decision:
• Make a decision on school travel arrangements and provide the decision to the Ombudsman. If the Council proposes to keep meeting its duties under the Education Act 1996 by providing a personal travel budget, the Council will need to gain Mr X’s consent and provide this with its response.
33. The Council agreed to take the following action within 4 weeks of my final decision:
• Apologise to Mr X for requiring him to have a personal travel budget and requiring him to escort Y. We publish guidance on remedies which sets out our expectations for how organisations should apologise effectively to remedy injustice. The organisation should consider this guidance in making the apology I have recommended in my findings.
• Pay Mr X £300 to recognise the distress and frustration the Council fault caused.
34. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Decision

35. I have completed my investigation. I have found fault by the Council, which caused injustice to Mr X.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman